I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Pencader. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Pencader.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Pencader. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Pencader should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.

Repair and maintenance of the flat

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Pencader please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Pencader

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Pencader both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Pencader is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Pencader conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

We expect to complete the sale of our £325000 apartment in Pencader on Thursday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Pencader?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Pencader conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Pencader
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Pencader leasehold premises is £350. For Pencader conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

What makes a Pencader lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Pencader. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I purchased a basement flat in Pencader, conveyancing formalities finalised 2009. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Pencader with a long lease are worth £241,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2104

With only 79 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Pencader